Alabama Men’s Basketball Set for Trip to Canada in Early August

The Alabama men’s basketball team will go on an eight-day trip to Canada in August, which will feature three games against local universities, head coach Avery Johnson announced. The Crimson Tide will depart Aug. 4 and return Aug. 11, and will make stops in Montreal and Ottawa before returning home to Tuscaloosa.

It is a much anticipated trip, as the 2017-18 Alabama squad will be on display for the first time. In addition to returning four starters and seven letterwinners from last season’s team that reached the National Invitation Tournament, the Crimson Tide will return 74 percent of its total scoring output, 58 percent of its rebounding and 77 percent of its assist totals from a year ago. Furthermore, the heralded signing class, ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, will be on full display for the first time in an Alabama uniform, as will be 6-11, 240-pound forward/center Daniel Giddens, who sat out last season after transferring to the Capstone after spending one year at Ohio State.

Per NCAA rules regarding a foreign tour, Alabama will hold 10 days of practices prior to departing Tuscaloosa. The Tide’s trip will begin on Aug. 4 when it departs Tuscaloosa for Atlanta. After spending a night there, Alabama will fly to Montreal on the morning of Aug. 5, where it will spend two days. Following its stay in Montreal, the Tide will travel to Ottawa on Aug. 7 where it will stay for the next three days.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to take our team to Canada this August,” said Johnson. “To have an opportunity to expose our guys to different cultures and historic cities such as Montreal and Ottawa is terrific. It will also allow our team to have practices with our returning players and our new players, which will only better prepare us for next season. We would like to thank our administration, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees and all of our tip-off clubs for their help with the backing of this trip. There is no doubt that our team will get an educational, social and basketball experience that will last a lifetime.”

Alabama will play a total of three games against three Canadian Universities over a span of its five days in Montreal and Ottawa. The first game will be played on Aug. 7 against McGill University at 7 p.m. The Redmen are coming off a record-setting season in which they ended with a 24-11 overall record and reached the bronze medal game in the ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS Men's Basketball championship tournament. Despite falling in that contest, McGill’s fourth-place finish was the program’s best result since a runner-up result in 1977.

On Aug. 9, the Tide will play the first of two games in Ottawa when it takes on Carleton University at 7 p.m. Last season, the Ravens won their seventh straight USports national championship and 13^th title in the last 15 years overall. Carleton finished the 2016-17 season with a 22-1 overall record but lost four seniors from last season’s squad. Hosting six NCAA teams prior to last season, Carleton finished a perfect 6-0, including a victory over eventual Missouri Valley Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant Wichita State.

The very next day, the Tide will conclude its game schedule in Canada when it takes on the University of Ottawa at 6:30 p.m. The Gee-Gees are coming off a 16-3 season a year ago, finishing runners-up to Carleton in the North Division. Ottawa narrowly missed reaching the USports Final 8, marking the first time since the 2011-12 season it failed to do so.

Deposits for 2017-18 men’s basketball season tickets are currently being accepted by The University of Alabama TIDE PRIDE/Ticket Office. Fans can click HERE for more information or to make their deposit today.